Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 6, 2025
The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients
Published on: June 12, 2020
School well-being in primary school children with chronic illness. A prospective cohort study
Kathleen Schnick-Vollmer1, Christiane Diefenbach1, Margarete Imhof2
1Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, University Medical Centre of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany.
Insights
Children with chronic illnesses experience lower school well-being (SWB) in specific areas. SWB may explain why chronic illness impacts academic performance in young students.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Pediatric Health
- Educational Psychology
Background:
- Children with chronic illnesses often face academic challenges.
- School well-being (SWB) is a potential mediator in the link between chronic illness and school performance.
- Understanding SWB in chronically ill children is crucial for academic support.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between chronic illness and three key domains of school well-being in first-grade children.
- To determine how different levels of chronic illness impact specific aspects of school well-being.
- To explore the role of school well-being as a potential mediator for academic outcomes.
Main Methods:
- A German prospective cohort study analyzed data from 1,490 first-grade children.
- Children were categorized into groups: current special health care needs (SHCN), chronic illness without SHCN, and healthy.
- School well-being (SWB) was assessed using the Questionnaire for the Assessment of Emotional and Social School Experiences, focusing on School-Related Self-Concept, Social Integration, and Joy of Learning.
Main Results:
- Children with SHCN reported lower School-Related Self-Concept and Joy of Learning compared to healthy peers (SMD -0.18 for both).
- Children with a chronic illness but no SHCN showed lower Social Integration scores (SMD -0.12).
- No significant differences in Social Integration were found for children with SHCN, nor in other domains for the chronic illness without SHCN group.
Conclusions:
- Children with chronic illnesses, with or without SHCN, exhibit diminished school well-being in certain domains compared to healthy children.
- School well-being (SWB) may serve as a mediating factor in the relationship between chronic illness and poorer academic performance.
- Targeted interventions to enhance SWB in chronically ill children could potentially improve academic outcomes.
Background:
Children with chronic illness perform poorer at school, and school well-being (SWB) may mediate this association. We investigated the association between chronic illness and three domains of SWB in children in first grade.
Methods:
Data from a German population-based prospective cohort study were used. Children with chronic illness were identified via their preschool health examination and follow-up parent surveys during first grade. Children were grouped as either (i) having current special health care needs (SHCN), (ii) having at least one physician diagnosis of a chronic illness but no current SHCN, or (iii) being healthy. SWB was assessed at the end of first grade and measured by the Questionnaire for the Assessment of Emotional and Social School Experiences of First and Second Grade Primary School Children. Based on SWB theory and previous frameworks, the following subscales were used: School-Related Self-Concept, Social Integration, and Joy of Learning. The sum score for each subscale was converted into area-transformed T-values (mean 50 and standard deviation 10). Associations between chronic illness groups and SWB subscales were investigated by multivariable linear regression models. Effect estimates were adjusted for potential confounding variables and standardized mean differences (SMD) were calculated.
Results:
Of the 1,490 children included, 15% had current SHCN and 37% had a physician diagnosis of a chronic illness but no current SHCN. Compared to healthy children, children with SHCN had lower scores for the School-Related Self-Concept and the Joy of Learning subscale (SMD -0.18 for both) but not for the Social Integration subscale. In contrast, children with a chronic condition but no SHCN had lower scores only for the Social Integration subscale (SMD -0.12).
Conclusions:
Primary school students with a chronic illness with or without SHCN have lower SWB in some domains compared to their healthy peers. SWB may be a mediator in the association between chronic illness and poor school performance.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:18Factors Affecting Illness
For instance, risk factors are connected to illness,...
01:18Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention II
The agent-host-environment model states that disease results...
02:20Longitudinal Research
01:29Concepts of Health and Illness
01:17Classification of Illness
An illness is a response to a disease in which the person's level of functioning is changed compared with a previous level. The general classification of illness includes acute and chronic.
Acute illness is severe...
01:26Longitudinal Studies